Raytheon [RTN] received $71.7 million in Army contracts to upgrade the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System with the modernized Radar Digital Processor (RDP) and Modern Man Station (MMS), officials said.
The increased processing power of the RDP improves the radar’s reliability by 40 percent, the company said Oct. 21. The greater situational awareness with the new MMS increases safety and allows soldiers in the field to better defend against evolving threats. The just-revealed contracts were awarded in Raytheon’s second and third quarters of 2013.
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| Patriot Launcher Photo: Raytheon |
“These major enhancements to the Radar Digital Processor pave the way for improved target detection and identification, multifunction surveillance and the full support of advanced PAC-3 missile enhancements through software upgrades,” said Ralph Acaba, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business. “The new Modern Man Station with color LCD displays, touch screens and soft keys will give soldiers the ability to more quickly identify threats, assess the situation and make decisions.”
Both RDP and MMS are supported by the new Patriot PDB-7 software release Raytheon unveiled in June–developed under the Patriot International Engineering Services Program (IESP). All 12 Patriot partners are members of the IESP and participate in prioritizing improvements needed to keep Patriot ahead of evolving threats.
“Every two to three years Raytheon releases a new series of software that keeps the weapon system ahead of new threats and takes advantage of new hardware,” Glaeser said. For example, the latest software PDB 7 integrates the PAC-3 MSE missile and some other hardware.
“When we digitize our capability, which is where we’re going to go next, it will give the ability to make future enhancements via software versus hardware,” he said. “Improvements in hardware and software modifications continue in lockstep.”
“We started the year with 12 Patriot partners, 11 of them international partners and we hope to add the 13th and 14th possibly by the end of the year,” said Tim Glaeser, vice president, Business Development Integrated Air & Missile Defense for Raytheon’s IDS business. “We have to wait and see.”
“We’ve also been working with U.S. government for about 18 months to get a second recertification of the GEM and GEM-T missiles produced by Raytheon that have blast fragment warheads,” Glaeser said.
The United States has thousands of PAC-2 interceptors, he said, while globally there are thousands more. Those missiles can go through a process and be recertified, which extends the life of the missile by another 15 years.
“If a customer does a second recertification, from the time it was produced until the time it needs to be replaced is now extended to 45 years,” Glaeser said. PAC-2 and GEM-T interceptors are preferred to use against air breathing or cruise missile threats, while the hit-to-kill PAC-3 is effective against tactical ballistic missiles particularly with chemical or biological warheads.
Patriot customers want to extend the shelf life of their missiles as long as possible at the lowest cost, because replacing or adding to the missile inventory is expensive.
Raytheon this year also integrated the PAC-3 MSE missile into the Patriot architecture, and conducted seven successful test fires at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
The MSE capability with the PAC-3 and GEM-T and missiles with a second certification now offer a mixed inventory that allows nations a cost effective way to stay ahead of emerging threats.
This year as well, Raytheon received a $116 million contract for engineering services, he said. Each international customer annually pays into this fund based on the number of fire units they have. The customers meet once a year, identify and prioritize what future changes they want to make in hardware and software, which are done via engineering change proposals. Individual nations can then select any changes they want or none at all. Each nation thus contributes to keeping Patriot current.
For example, many nations don’t have the mobility requirements the United States does since its forces could go anywhere. Patriots in Kuwait and the UAE fight from fixed permanent sites, so they might not choose mobility or long distance communication improvements.
Finally, tests and a series of engagements with PAC-3 hit-to-kill interceptors with modernization configurations are conducted before delivering weapon systems to customers.
“We continue to ensure the PAC-3 GEM-T and MSE missiles will do exactly what we claim they will do in a tactically stressing environment,” Glaeser said. The rigorous tests have oversight by the U.S. Army and Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.
“I’m proud of everything Team Patriot is doing, from the production path from the early ‘80s, and the future looks even brighter, Glaeser said. “We’re staying ahead of the threat.”
Raytheon is the prime contractor for both domestic and international Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems and system integrator for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles. Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the prime for the PAC-3 missile segment.